jackcorbett

A few months ago I went out twice with Aquanuts on Soi Six. The overall experience was good but limited as I wanted to save my money for other things (buying a condo for instance). Around 15 months ago I got certified for scuba diving in Missouri. Prior to this I had limited occasional scuba or snorkeling experience. When I was 18 I did one dive in Acapulco, Mexico. The water and quantity and variety of fish was much superior to what I have found around Pattaya. I did a little snorkeling at Cabo San Lucas and once again the quality of both the water and fish was far superior. Around four years ago, I did some snorkeling while surrounded by sharks in Belize. The water was very clear with excellent visibility. In my experience Belize was number one, by far. Along with going on two dives around Pattaya last year I snorkeled once in Phukett and although the water was much clearer than Pattaya's on this particular day it did not compare at all to Belize and I found it to be inferior to Cabo's as well.

I agree that all food intake is fattening to one degree or another. I also subscribe to observing the absolutely critical role exercise plays for both good health and weight control. Basically it is one beer (on the average) equals one mile of running or equivalent cardio vascular exercise. Even so...there are a few exceptions. For instance a friend of mine has recently confided in me telling me that he has a thyroid condition that nullifies what he is trying to accomplish in his exercise program. I am 58 now. Most of my life I have been a long distance runner and while in High School and College I lettered early on in Cross Country racing. But about the age of fifty I had my first hernia and several years later I had my second one. The hernias and perhaps resulting scar tissue has played havoc with my running program. Most of my life I've weighed between 160 and 170 and it was not until several years ago that my weight shot up to 192 to 194. Now I am most likely at 165 pounds or so. Back in the U.S. my idea was to jump start my weight loss with couple months of the Adkins diet and then to maintain my weight with the right exercise program. And it worked. But even though I do a lot of walking and running here in Pattaya I am sure I run or walk fewer miles than the amount of beers I consume. My diet by the way is for the most part Thai as I consume very few falang meals. The equation is nevertheless still valid.....One beer or mixed drink, glass of wine coca cola or whatever equals around 160 calories or one mile of running or equivalent exercise. My Thai gf by the way will remind me every other day that we need to do a three mile walk together. She will not eat falang food either and if I ask her if she wants some she will say something like..."Good for you. Not good for me." Back in the U.S. I have three sisters. One is a fat momma while the other two--ages 53 and 41 have wonderfully maintained physiques. One owns a dancing studio and is a terrific dancer. She will run mini marathons to stay in shape. The other..the one who is 53, is an avid student of nutrition who carefully watches what she eats or prepares for her family. She is also a proponent of good exercise. My Thai gf just commented about her sister: "She always small. No matter what." I think what she was saying to me is that her sister is simply genetically thin and that short of eating vast quantities of "big mamma food" she will continue to have the shape of a greyhound. In general from what I have seen the Thais do not like to exercise. Any expatriate who's been here long will tell you that. Nevertheless, if one goes down to the Beach around five p.m. or so one will encounter many falang and many Thais running next to Beach Road. Some of the Thais are women. But I have never seen a single falang woman running down the beach. Not once. A combination of a good exercise program and proper eating habits works for two out of three sisters. The third would be slender if she didn't eat so much and if she exercized like the other two. I do agree that there are lots of fat mommas here in Pattaya, but I think part of this is because of a genetically disposition towards being heavy while much of it is because the fat mommas get little exercise and eat too much of the wrong things. Still.....I think there is a lot to how much time food stays in the body and weight gain/loss. And I think that many Thais try to improve the odds of their remaining slender by watching what they eat.

Normally I might feel the same way about it---ie...too many trips to the toilet can easily be a manifestation of illness. But just do an experiment on yourself. Order for instance steamed rice and put some spicy garlic pork on top of it. Then heavily lace this with fish sauce that is well spiked with hot peppers. Undoubtedly you will be going to the toilet very shortly. And what comes out is not likely to be very solid. Same same with green mango well seasoned with red pepper. So I'd suggest that diet is causing the runs, not illness. I also believe that as often as it induces a cleanout of my system, sometimes at inopportune times, that even though it would seem Thai girls gastro intestinal tracts are more immune to hot spicy food, that there are limitations and that these limitations are more than exceeded by the overindulgence of many Thai women by what they put into their stomachs. Even long term expats close to me are suggesting that girls eat often and shit often so this is more than personal observation. The question I'm asking is: "Do they do this because 1. It helps in weight control, and 2. They use such eating habits as a tool in much the same way many Westerners might use exercise as a means of staying trim?

So why do so many of the girls seem addicted to Pok Pok? I would think that having to go to the toilet incessantly is not considered a desireable state of being by most of these girls. On a lesser scale I know that eating spicy Thai food will keep me cleaned out. I also really enjoy the food. I know this is healthy particularly in my case since my mother died of colon cancer at 56 and I might be predisposed towards it. But these girls reach a new level of consumption---defecation. I've seen them have to suddenly go to the toilet three times within a half an hour. And this as a direct result from an eating fest of pok pok. Trips to the toilet can often be incessant and perhaps crippling in terms of interfering with the flow of day's activities. So I'm wondering if most of these girls do it in spite of the inconvenience it might cause them because they know such activities will have a direct result on their ability/inablity to stay thin.

A large percentage (as compared to in the West) of Thai ladies are slender. Yet, most of them are eating much of the time, often consuming five meals a day. Very popular with them is a conglomeration of awful looking (and smelling) vegetables and stuff they call Pok Pok. (not sure if this is the way to spell it or not). They also eat a lot of Papaya Salad which I believe is considered a component of the Pok Pok. And of course there's the inevitable green mango accompanied by red pepper that is guaranteed to induce a shit. It seems the gals are on a Crusade to regularly consume all of this. What I am wondering is to what extent does it help cause slenderness. I do know the girls regularly consuming the pok pok and green mango defecate an awful lot, and that my gf has this to say about it---"Good for me." So I am thinking (but not sure) that consuming all of this causes weight loss and that the girls are well aware of it which is why they eat the stuff in such copious quantities.

Here's a couple web sites for you to check out http://samui.sawadee.com/hotels/chaweng.html and http://www.sawadee.com/samui/chawengcove/ The first comprises many hotel listings for Koh Samui. The second is the web site for Chaweng Cove. We just returned from Koh Samui two weeks ago--my friend visiting from the U.S., his girl, my girl Spicy and me and we did stay at Chaweng Cove which I heartily recommend. I also have over 100 pictures that I have placed temporily online at http://www.alphapro.com/showcase/ which are nearly all from our recent trip there. Chaweng Cove ran us 2000 baht a night (low season prices) and this included a buffet breakfast each morning for two. There are cheaper accomodations here as well as more expensive. Most idyllic spots would be the beach front bungaloes but there are just four of those. We got the pool side bungaloes which put us just 75 feet or so from the water's edge. Within feet of our bunaloes is a very nice outdoor bar overlooking the ocean. There was also live music in the pool area at night. I really couldn't fault this place in any respect. One of my pals, who has been to Koh Samui several times, favors Lamai Beach where he's had good luck with the Weekender Resort http://www.weekender-villa.com/samui_island.htm Since we almost stayed there instead of Chaweng Cove, my gf, Spicy and I rented a motorbike which we rode to Lamai Beach where we checked out the Weekender and had lunch on the beach From what I saw I would have to concur with David that the beach is superior at Lamai to Chaweng's. During our visit, scuba or snorkeling, was out as the water was very choppy with waves up to six feet or so. During low tide there was a thin strip of sand near our accomodation and during high tide there was hardly any whereas at Lamai the strip of sand was considerably wider. One of our trip high points was when we rented a car and driver through our hotel for the day during which we traveled a loop around the entire island--a distance of around 35 miles or so. We did the elephant trek where we passed a small outdoor zoo, played with the monkeys, etc, visited Big Buddha, had lunch at Big John's Resort and Seafood Restaurant, etc. Well away from the action of Chaweng or even Lamai this last place was very nice.

I had gotten the impression that Pattaya Bangkok Hospital and International Hospital were roughly equivalent to each other, both being quite good. But no direct experience with Pattaya Bangkok Hospital nor have any of my friends had experience with it. In my previous visit, one of my pals injured his ribs in a scuba diving accident. I recommended International Hospital to him There he got immediate service, got his x rays done, was advised by a doctor on the spot, was given a compress, etc. All of this for less than $100.00 American. He was most impressed. I just got checked out for HIV and all the Hepitis tests I could get. Went to a neighboring clinic and was told I would have to come back on Tuesdays unless I had an emergency for which I needed to be treated for. Not wanting to wait and seeing this as an opportunity to test the waters of Pattaya medical care I went straight off to International Hospital which is less than a half mile from me. To get checked out I needed to make an appointment with a doctor which I did there in the waiting room. I then had my weight checked, had my blood pressure checked, temperature, etc. A few minutes later I saw an internist who gave the hospital the go ahead to perform the tests. He also prescibed exactly what hepatitis tests to perform after conferring with me. The hospital then administered the blood test. A half hour later I got the good news that I was clear of HIV. I then had to pay the bill and got a certificate attesting to my testing negative for HIV. THe bill was 48 bucks. I think it would have been substantially less had I not wanted to get checked out for Hepititis too. I had an appointment to see the Internist again and went in to see him a few days later. I was then assured I tested negative for all strains of hepititis and was given a new certificate showing I had tested negative for HIV and Hepatitis. There we no additional charges. While I was seeing the doctor during this second visit I asked him what it would cost me to have a vasetomy. He asked me if I wanted it done at the hospital or through an affiliated clinic. I replied that I was merely checking the price but if I wanted to have one, I would go the clinic route. He then made a phone call and told me to wait in the waiting room for fifteen minutes while he got an answer. I waited in the waiting room for fifteen minutes with my GF, and then the doctor came over to me to tell me what the vasectomy would cost. It would be dirt cheap. The personal service I got from the doctor was amazing. He was very courteous as was the entire staff I dealt with. Now the issue for me becomes---As I need medical care down the road do I go to International Hospital or do I opt for Pattaya Bangkok Hospital? It looks like I had just established myself with an Internist. Three months ago I was successful in getting health insurance with BUPA. BUPA has told me that is has an agreement with Pattaya Bangkok Hospital and most of the other hospitals in this area to accept the insurance cards presented by its insureds. However, it has no reciprocal agreement with International Hospital. So if I were to go to International Hospital I would have to settle up the bill and then get reimbursed from BUPA. Among other things this would be a real pain, which I will not get into right now. I suppose what might make sense is to use if necessary the internist if necessary on an outpatient basis. And then to use a hospital other than International Hospital if I need some serious hospital care. I did not take nor pay for the outpatient plan for BUPA feeling it was not a great deal for me although I did take the most potent inpatient care plan BUPA offered. I would think this internist might be able to refer me to a doctor at one of the other hospitals if I needed an operation or had something seriously go wrong with me. I'm open to suggestions.

I can recommend a spot here in Pattaya to buy computer hardware. It is on one of the top floors (around six floors up) of the Tuc com building located on South Pattaya Road approximately 1/2 mile East of 2nd Road on the South Side of the street. As you come up the escalator you will be looking right at the store which will have Hewlett Packard and other name brands visibly displayed. I bought a Hewlett Packard Pentium IV computer running at 3 GHz from a Thai woman named Meow here. The computer has one 160 gig hard drive, 1 gig of ram, a 1394 port (for video capture), smart media and memory stick slots, a cd-dvd writer, usb ports, etc. I bought a Samsung 19 inch LCD monitor and also ordered for it a 200 gig hard drive so I could have two hard drives with 360 gigs capacity. All of this ran me around $1500 U.S. When the 2nd hard drive arrived Meow recommended that I use "her shop" to have it installed when I mentioned that I would probably want to install it myself. So when I found the time I brought the computer in. Meow and the young Thai male who handles most of the tech work here gave me service within 2 minutes of my arrival. The job took the man around one hour and I was out of there and on my way back to the guest house. I was not charged a thing for the hard drive installation.

Does anyone have any ideas for me about English classes a TG can take here in Pattaya that go beyond what I understand to be the "usual" two week primers? The girl who is with me has expressed keen interest in taking classes. I met her sister and brother in law (English) the other night. The brother in law told me that just four months ago the girl's English was practically non-existent. He felt she had learned a lot in a short time. I met the girl when she was cashier at a bar. Previous to this she had worked in Bangkok as a cashier for a medium sized plastics company. I gather from her she's had two year's of college learning accounting. My thinking here is multi fold. For one thing, if a girl dotes on me and continues to do so, I would like to help her improve her marketability. I also like to see those close to me who want to do something to improve themselves acquire the tools for self improvement if I can help make a difference. I am also interested in helping this girl keep productively busy. For example, if I want to stay busy writing, doing web site work, reading, etc (which also helps me stay out of the bars) it is advantageous that the girl who is with me do something similar, but of course more in line with what she wants for herself. There perhaps is a viable alternative to this girl's going to "school". This would be for her to study here where we are staying. I could get a whiteboard to emphasize key points the way a blackboard is used in schools. Or a small blackboard. We could get some self study materials--books, workbooks, etc geared for a Thai wanting to learn English. I have one year of formally teaching English---History behind me back in the U.S. (thirty years ago) at the Secondary level. The question is--1. where would we get the whiteboard or blackboard (Big C for instance?) and 2. where should we start looking for the necessary books, workbooks and other self study aids?

I also want to add what I have gleaned from "condo prices" I've seen. A friend of mine just bought a small studio condo in Jomtien. It is 33 square meters in size, This is the size of a nice hotel room. It is a very nice place for what it is being very well appointed and organized by the Englishman who had refurbished it. But do keep in mind that "studio condos" typically go up to 40 square meters so 33 square meters is a bit on the small side even for a studio. He paid 1.5 million baht for his place which is roughly three times what you are budgeting to buy a "nice place". Prior to my actually purchasing a condo at Wongamat Beach, when I was back in the states before my March-May visit, I had been going over condo and apartment listings on the Internet every day, and I mean everyday. The 1.5 million baht price for 33 square meters was pretty much the market rate, at least for Jomtien and similar areas although I do seem to recall some 40 square meter apartments going for this. Then, in early March i looked at a 33 square meter place on Soi 8 not far from Beach Road. The place would have to have had a lot of work done to it. But as I recall the owner was wanting close to 1.5 million baht for it. I figured he might have accepted less, and that the complete investment required to bring this place up to snuff would have been around 2 million baht. I've heard that housing is much cheaper outside of Pattaya. But as long as we are talking about Pattaya I would think that 500,000 baht is not even within spitting distance of what the market is.

Quit running? I've been running since I was 14. Easier to quit cigarettes which I did two years ago. Was going to get a massage today. But I never did, but I did walk from Soi 6 to the Long Beach Hotel on Soi 16 in Naklua, then ran back to Soi Six and onto Skytop along the beach, a distance I'd estimate at 2 miles. In fact, I ran right through that terrific downpour we had today and I felt great after doing it. I really don't think the running has much to do with my back trouble. Too much boom booming, well maybe. Not having a great mattress might have something to do with worsening the problem too. Perhaps slouching over this keyboard might too. But I definitely do have a problem. I think going to the chiropracter recommended by some of you would definitely help a great deal. But I do think getting some of these massages alleviates the problem for a few days. Recently by the way, I've found a place where one can get a one hour massage for 100 baht. Still wondering why I can get a few days relief from these massages. That is why is works to the extent that it does.

On three occasions I've had Thai ladies take me back to their rooms either to get something such as an article of clothing or just to show me how they live. The places I've been to run around 5000 baht for a room about the size of one of the bedrooms of the two bedroom apartment I lived alone in back in the U.S. There is typically a small bathroom off the bedroom and in some cases a very small balcony if one can call it that. Enough to hang a few clothes outside and that's it. These places are without air conditioning. The girls keep them half way cool with a simple fan and by keeping the outside door open a lot so that there is some cross through ventilation. I have not even seen as much as a microwave in these places. From what I've seen the girls often buy their food from street vendors which they will then often bring back to the room to share with others living with them. The girls have to pay extra for utilities. They share such places with at least one roommate. Typically from what I've seen there are two or more girls sharing the place and the rent and utilities. The places I've seen don't even have closets as we know them. The girls will run a clothes line through the corner of the places on which they hang their clothes or use a small wardrobe which they share with their roommates. An American woman would not put up with such wardrobes even if they don't have to share the space with other women. So I concur with the sentiment of the others. You won't find a "nice room" for the price you are budgeting for. If you could the Thai girls would have already been renting such places.

I'm glad everyone seems to be liking the video. As for Mary being taken, I can sure appreciate the sentiment expressed re "that is too bad." I've found Mary to be not only a great entertainer but also a very warm person who makes everyone feel special. Although Spicy, the girl with me in the video, has been staying with me for several weeks, I have through a prolonged period of time taken a handful of Thai ladies into the place. Mary has consistently come up to my table where we touched bases and she has on every occasion without fail managed to draw out my dates by striking up a one on one conversation with the girls. So the girls have all taken an instant liking to Mary, even though Mary's Thai is very rudimentary and even with girls whose English is nearly non-existent. And the best part of it all is I've seen this group only get better since I first started going to the Blues Factory nearly one year ago.

Just 15 months ago, just one month prior to my first visit to Pattaya I hurt my back while moving from one apartment to another. The pain was so bad I'd spend most of my time on the couch and would use crutches to move around. If I had to go to the restroom I'd ask myself: "How bad do I need to go?" Then I'd hobble to the toilet and just hang on those crutches while urinating. The pain would be very severe by the time I had finished. Then I started seeing a chiropracter and I improved quickly. Made the trip, this first one lasting just 10 days. Got a couple of foot massages which helped and one oil massage. Back in the U.S. continued to see the chiropracter. Situation improved each week and visits to the chiropracter which had started with everyday treatments eventually wound down to just two per month. The vertebrae in my lower back were the problem as they had compressed with advancing age. Took another trip to Pattaya, this time for one month, then still another, that time for two months. But no trips to the chiropracter. I found one girl who would give me massages which seemed to help a lot and would see her a couple times a week. In spite of the back trouble I was still able to maintain a running and bicycling exercise program while in the U.S. and now that I've moved permanently to Pattaya I still am able to run a couple of miles on the beach and do long walks. But the girl I have relied on for my massages (she would give me a one hour foot massage followed by 1/2 hour on my shoulders and back) is no longer giving massages. She recommended a friend she worked with who I had gotten to know. This friend has 4 years of experience and seems to know what she is going. But after my back had started to hurt again, and I went to her for a massage she asked me if I wanted her to give me all her power, meaning a very hard massage. I said that's what I wanted. She'd bend me in different positons similar to what a chiropracter would do, but the manipulation of my spine was much more prolonged. But all of this worsened my condition and the next morning I was even worse off. The day after that I went to a spa my little TG recommended where I got a massage lasting one hour but most of it was devoted entirely to my lower back. I felt much better afterwards. Sorry guys for the long story, but I'm sure some of you have similar back problems to mine. As I understand it, the basic treatment whether performed by a chiropracter or masseuse is to widen the gap between the vertebrae which alleviates the pain for one thing while giving long term relief. A foot massage I would think just gives a more temporary relief since the effect is more on the nerves rather than to widen the gag on the vertebrae. From what I have noticed when a gal who knows what she is doing manipulates the spine with her hands or while walking on it, applying pressure with her knee, etc. it seems the spine is squeezed in such a manner that the vertabrae tends to get separated to a slight degree thus providing relief. Perhaps consistent and even more treatments per month would give longer term relief from the problem? So what do you think? Chiropracter here in Pattaya? Or Thai massage? And where does one find the best chiropractic care here at reasonable cost? Or does getting the right massage treatment perform basically the same thing? I am also wondering why that one massage I got made me feel much worse instead of better?

Just took this video footage last night. It starts out at a beer bar just outside the Blues Factory. The two girls are Anne, a nice twenty year old who's with my pal, David, and Spicy, which is not her real name, but I've named her this, because, she's, uhmm, Spicy. and she likes the name. Then we take it inside the Blues Factory. I hope everyone enjoys it, especially the music. Mary and the rest of the group at the Blues Factory is in top form. Like to have some feedback on this one. http://www.nirvanapublishing.com/looking/spicy.htm

I have just recently moved to Pattaya after getting the one year retirement visa. It is my nephew, I am inquiring about however. He's 31 years old. He has a 4 year bachelor's degree in English, and he's most interested in moving to Thailand. Although I've heard there is a huge demand for English teachers here, I've also heard that teaching salaries do not cut it unless one has a pension or other main support income from his home country.

If the Thai lady has majority control of the business, and she will, then you have no rights whatsoever. This amounts to your buying her the business. Period. In fact I've heard many stories about falang men buying house in Thai lady's name only to come home one night to find locks have been changed and Thai husband firmly enscrounched in house. I think it would be wise to never never get house in Thai lady's name, to always make sure you are worth more money alive than dead and to have complete control of the money supply so she is completely dependent upon you. Make sure that once you have given big gift to Thai lady that you have not given her the big prize she is looking for and are no longer useful to her.

So you are a fellow St. Louisian? In St. Louis now? I just rode my bicycle 35 miles yesterday in this hot muggy 92 degree St. Louis heat and it was a killer. I think I did this for several reasons....1. It was not getting any cooler and I needed the exercise and 2. I am checking the weather forecasts every day knowing my income will be directly related to how well the crops do on the farm. I am most concerned as so far we are having a drought. I've also been running up and down Monks Mound at Cahokia Mounds four times for exercise. That's four hundred vertical feet. Anyway, back then these early inhabitants here in the St. Louis area performed human sacrifices so I suppose this has rubbed off on me. So I thought I would sacrifice myself by riding 35 miles in this insufferable heat and through sacrificing myself that perhaps it must might rain on the crops. I will admit doing a rain dance would have been much easier but I really can't dance a lick. So how would you compare this kind of St. Louis weather to what you think Pattaya is experiencing right about now?

No question about it---toilets, Thai food whether served in a restaurant or on the street, the role of hot peppers in the food, how often and how authoritatively the average Thai lady needs to shit, etc. have not been given their due. Take for instance colon cancer? The little bit I've gleaned from the web is that Thais who eat Thai food have far less risk of colon cancer than Americans. Is this really true? And if it is, why? Is it because those who eat it typically defecate much more often and thoroughy? If this is true, then Americans should do likewise. And what about the role that eating Thai food has on a person's weight? Could we as falang keep sustantually more trim and fit by eating more Thai food? And how about the babes? Many Thai ladies are very trim. And I'll bet it has a lot to do with the diet because it certainly isn't because Thai women like to walk a lot. So is this because Thai food has fewer calories or carbs than an American diet of mashed potatoes, bread, and sugar laden food has for example? And what about the role of extreme hot food that gets a person to literally work up a sweat while eating it? Does the hot food increase a guy or gal's metabolism to such an extent that huge gains are made as far as weight control because of this reason alone. If much of the above is true then undoubtedly a big price is paid by constantly having the shits. Perhaps then someone can make huge profits by introducing special Thai t.v. dinners which could be marketed all over the world. One simply removes a plastic cover and microwaves or cooks by other means (even over an open fire for instance) most of the contents. Of huge importance is the seasoning which should be pepper laden so that the food is exceedingly hot. Included in the all self contained package would be a special wallet sized case filled with a small quantity of toilet paper. If we did this we could come up with an entire line of Thai food that we would call "Firebrand Shittoo." This name has huge additional advantages in that it could gain us instant access to the very hard to penetrate Japanese markets.

Many thanks guys. I will have to get on the phone to Thailand. Seems emailing government offices has not worked. I wonder if most government offices in any country know what email is.

Many thanks, Greg B. I checked the site out and just like other sites I've visited i noticed that a quarantine might be imposed. As of a few days ago I've emailed one of the Thai government bureacracies governming this. And no reply. I could call the airport at the telephone numbers I found via your link which I found also on another site to find out what fees are involved as well as how much of a possibility of quarantine I might run into. In Pattaya at one of the Expat meetings at the Grand Sole Hotel I asked a question about my cat traveling to Pattaya and was informed by someone that there is no quarantine, not in her experience---but the operative words here are "Not in her experience". I think a 30 day quarantine as well as being expensive would kill or destroy the health of my cat. The man who owns the guest house where I'll be once again staying in Pattaya has e-mailed me writing: "Are you out of your mind for wanting to bring your cat to Pattaya?" He then suggested strongly that my cat would not live long once she got to Pattaya on account of the very hot climate. This web site you just linked me to admonishes the reader contemplating moving his dog or cat to Thailand that there is a very real danger to the animals health because of this relentlously very hot climate. Any constructive thoughts on all of this from anyone?

Once again I'll be flying into Thailand, this time on August 1 and this time for good. Will hopefully move into a condo on November 1. I have a cat, age 11, which has been extremely loyal. Back in October-November I left the cat with friends who she never warmed up to and nearly died from lack of eating, etc. while I was staying in Pattaya for a month. I have checked the airlines for procedures and costs for bringing my cat with me. I have also checked various web sites in order to find out what I must do to import this cat into Thailand. For instance I need to take her to the vet who I would get a report from re the cat's History, his opinion as to her health, etc. There are possible shots involved. At the Bangkok airport there are fees involved. But I don't know how much. Here the info gets fuzzy as there might be a possible 30 day quarantine involved. But I need to know---is there or isn't there a quarantine involved assuming the cat is healthy? The person who owns the guesthouse I'll be staying in for three months prior to my moving into the condo I have bought has warned me not to bring the cat on account of her age and the hot climate in Pattaya which he believes would soon kill her. Although this cat is 11 she looks and acts much younger and to my knowledge has never been sick. Can anyone fill me in on the gaps in my knowledge on bringing my cat in re fees possible quarantine, etc? Also need good advice as to a cat such as mine's chances of remaining healthy under the circumstances of such a drastic move, change of climate, etc?

I have noticed that too....that several Thai girls I went out with had the shits pretty often since they were going to the toilet even more often than I was. About this time I had been wondering why after being in Pattaya for six straight weeks I still had the dynamic shits. Was it my eating Thai food at least twice a day I reasoned (And I like a lot of pepper laden fish sauce with mine) or was it because I was sometimes mixing falang breakfast with Thai food that unsettled my stomach? Or was it that I was brushing my teeth with tap water thinking just a small amount of contaminated water would screw me up? Other things I started noticing is that in the last five years alone American women have become pronounceably more whalish. But many Thai women, even women in their thirties had nice tight stomachs and fine legs that put most American women even in their late teens to shame. Well. of course it's the fast food diet that have taken American women plumb out of the sex object category. On the other hand nearly every time I took a Thai woman to dinner or breakfast, she would choose Thai food over steaks, German food, the American breakfast or whatever, and nearly every one of them liked her Thai food hot. So the question is, is it the peppers in the food favored by Thai babes that make them so delectably slender and enticing with the noodles and rice and the absence of fried food and sugar? Or is it the fact they shit a lot and that they shit so much and often that the fat never has a chance to build up? Or is it the sheer energy they must expend in the toilet that burns so many calories which keeps them so slender? I still have not gotten to the bottom of all this, but one thing I did find out. I was in Pattaya between March 8 and May 8 for sixty days and I drank Heineken beer every night with the excepton of three nights I took off from all the drinking. Yet, when I got home I weighed 8 pounds less than when I started the trip. Admittedly I did a lot of walking in the heat, but that's a lot of dedicated beer drinking I did too. So it has to be in the Thai food. So what is it---caloric intake versus what one gets from American food, lack of deep fried food, lack of sugar in the food for the most part, or the toll exacted from shitting so often and much?

Hey guys, now let's get to the real shit. We are all going to stay where we want to stay so it looks like there's no talking any or us out of our preferences. But I've got a problem and so does everybody else here who consumes any meaningful quantities of Thai food. Although I've got the toilet bowl situation pretty well mapped out by Walking Street, the vicinity around Sois 7 and 8, and that area near Soi 2, I can still use some more suggestions from all of you on safe havens that will give me squatters rights. Don't need any of those friendly massage artists trying to give me a hand while I'm on the crapper so not just any toilet will do. My real problems will emerge when I start my running program once I arrive back in Pattaya on August 3rd. By then I should be comfortable running a couple miles or so along the Beach or on the streets. My route will be essentially from Skytop which is near Soi 6 on Second Road to Soi 16 up North in Naklua. The terminus or starting point will be the Wongamat Residence condos next door to the Long Beach Hotel. Along North Naklua Road there are a number of shops, beer bars and other businesses all the way up to Soi 16 where I will turn left and head towards the ocean. Anyone have any good spots where I can squat on the way where I can lighten the load on my intestines? I want a private moment alone without having a bunch of lady boys or mechanics offering me a helping hand. And then once I hit the beach and start running towards Central Pattaya what happens then once the stomach starts to rumble and the tsunami inside threatens to drown the sand? What toilets do you recommend right along the beach, memorable or otherwise?

Herr Doctor--You forgot the Lady Boys writing e-mails at the Sky-Top Internet Cafe to their boyfriends back in Falangland for money to help sick buffalo. Not to mention all the beautiful bar girls at the computers. Made my position very clear--I like the place and find its owner to be a terrific guy. All those bars just fifty feet from Sky-Top that were open during my last October--November visit will soon be back if they aren't already. Great opportunities for meeting luscious titallating babes here. When you consider one is within a half mile of Big C to the North, one half a mile from Topps to the South, 1.5 blocks from Soi 6 and all those short time bars there, not much more than 1/2 mile from Soi 7 and 8 and the bar girls there, 1 block from the Grand Sole Hotel where the Saturday Expats meetings are held, a couple blocks from International Hospital, you will find Sky-Tops location to be hard to beat. Herr Doctor--I think you are bitter just because Pete won't let you back in for non payment of your bill.